The Municipal Council has given final approval to the Torrevieja City Council Budget for 2026, which amounts to €187.7 million.
The 2026 budget includes new support schemes aimed at helping young people achieve independence through access to housing, as well as assistance for the rehabilitation of children with cancer and for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.
This is a solid and balanced budget, drawn up with the highest level of citizen participation ever recorded in the city. It guarantees the continuity of public services, strengthens investment, and maintains fiscal pressure without raising taxes or fees.
The Torrevieja City Council Plenary Session has definitively approved the Municipal Budget for the 2026 financial year, with a total amount of €187,732,919.75. This represents an overall increase of 11.38% compared to the 2025 budget, following the review and resolution of the objections submitted during the public consultation period and after the corresponding reports issued by the General Comptroller’s Office.
The Councillor for Economy and Finance, Domingo Paredes, stated that the objections submitted by opposition groups “do not meet the legally required criteria to be upheld,” as clearly and conclusively stated in the Comptroller’s report. In this regard, he recalled that this procedure “is not a political or ideological debate, but a strictly regulated administrative process.”
Paredes added that the claims do not demonstrate any real shortfall in revenue or the omission of enforceable obligations, but instead raise “issues of political expediency that were already debated and voted on at the time of the initial approval of the budget and were not raised by the PSOE when they should have been.”
Rigour in revenue forecasts and expenditure control
The Councillor for Finance highlighted that the revenue estimates for 2026 were prepared in accordance with the criteria of the Ministry of Finance, applying the principle of prudence and relying on real budget execution data and multi-year averages. He therefore dismissed any allegations of unrealistic or inflated revenue projections.
He also noted that both the forecast for municipal capital gains tax revenue and the projections for fees and tax rolls are based on technical reports and on the actual evolution of revenue collection, thereby ensuring budgetary balance.
Investments financed in line with the law
With regard to investment funding, Domingo Paredes was categorical in stating that the budget does not anticipate expenditure without financial backing nor commit non-existent resources, as all planned actions are properly conditioned in accordance with budgetary legislation and the Rules of Execution.
He also pointed out that the budget complies with the objectives of budgetary stability and financial sustainability and that, following final approval, the necessary procedures will be initiated to apply for exit from the Economic and Financial Plan.
The Comptroller’s Office report detected a material error in the calculation of net savings, which was corrected prior to final approval, resulting in net savings higher than initially reported. According to the councillor, this “demonstrates the rigour, transparency and capacity for correction of the governing team.”
The budget with the greatest citizen participation
During his address, Paredes подчеркнул that the 2026 Budget is the one with the greatest level of citizen involvement in Torrevieja’s history, not only because of its approval by the Plenary Session, but also due to the direct participation of residents and community groups through a regulated, open and transparent process. “It is a budget that emerges from the city itself, incorporating proposals from all neighbourhoods and different perspectives, and excluding no one,” he stated.
With this final approval, Torrevieja positions itself among the first large municipalities in Spain to have its budget approved, providing the City Council with stability, legal certainty and greater management capacity to continue advancing the transformation of the municipality.
More than €46 million allocated to investments
One of the most significant sections of the 2026 Budget is the investment chapter, which totals €46,191,308.29, representing an increase of 44.03% compared to the previous year. Planned projects include the completion of major ongoing works, new initiatives in mobility, infrastructure, green spaces and accessibility, as well as urban regeneration and energy efficiency programmes.
Among the most notable investments are €2,260,000 for the renovation and improvement of parks and gardens, including the new Alto de la Casilla park, with an allocation of €500,000. The budget also provides for the construction of the new Day Centre for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions “Tomás Ballester Herrera,” the creation of new pedestrian paths, neighbourhood redevelopment, improvements to public lighting throughout the municipality, as well as investments in public safety and equipment for the Local Police.
In terms of grants and subsidies, highlights include €800,000 allocated to local NGOs, €400,000 in assistance for pensioners, €300,000 for work–life balance and support for motherhood, €350,000 for the Individualised Economic Assistance Programme (PEIS), €100,000 for the self-management of the Torrevieja Carnival, €80,000 for Academic Excellence Awards, €90,000 for the CONVEGA Consortium to promote employment and economic development, and €200,000 allocated to school and educational transport.
Finally, the budget introduces new social aid measures to be launched in 2026, including €50,000 for the rehabilitation of children with cancer, €30,000 for rehabilitation and physical activity programmes for people with neurodegenerative diseases, and €200,000 in youth emancipation grants aimed at facilitating access to rental housing as a primary residence.
